Oilfield sites regularly employ the use of open-air ponds for storage of water to be used during certain oilfield extraction operations, such as well drilling, well stimulation, water injection, and hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing generally involves pumping a fluid into a well at high pressures to create hydraulic fractures in an oil/gas reservoir into which the well is drilled. The fluid used in hydraulic fracturing is generally a mixture of water (˜90%), a granular proppant material (˜9.5%), and gellants and other common chemicals (˜0.5%). The fluid is pumped into a reservoir at high pressures to create hydraulic fractures. The granular proppant material is deposited within the fractures to hold them open, leaving a high porosity flow path for petroleum extraction.
The fluid employed in hydraulic fracturing and the other oilfield extraction operations is subject to various unique management concerns, including biological species content, water loss due to evaporation or other.
While use of water storage tanks may alternatively be utilized to isolate the water from the ambient environment, some bacterial species are able to thrive in anaerobic environments. Some of the bacteria that thrive in anaerobic environments generate hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is undesirable in oilfield applications for various reasons as known in the art. Within the storage tanks, the generated H2S (which is in gaseous form under ambient temperatures and pressures) may become trapped. Thus, open-air storage ponds, which are also more cost effective than storage tanks, are generally desired as the source of water for the oilfield operations.
Surface spreading agents are known for use in municipal water reservoirs, swimming pools, and agricultural water storage ponds for purposes of trapping heat and/or minimizing evaporation of water. However, municipal water reservoirs, swimming pools, and agricultural water storage ponds are not subject to the same considerations as open-air ponds used at oilfield sites. Unlike municipal water reservoirs, swimming pools, or agricultural water storage ponds, the water held in the open-air ponds used at oilfield sites is to be pumped into a well and contamination of the well and the hydrocarbon reservoir is a concern. As such, swimming pool and agricultural holding pond solutions are not necessarily appropriate for open-air ponds used at oilfield sites. Further, the oilfield sites where the open-air ponds are located are often much more isolated than municipal water reservoirs, swimming pools, or agricultural water storage ponds, rendering material delivery and handling much more difficult for the open-air ponds used at oilfield sites. Further still, handling of chemicals at oilfield sites frequently leads to negative perceptions, especially when oilfield employees are required to wear protective gear when handling materials employed at the oilfield water storage sites. Such negative perceptions are a concern because they have been known to significantly affect, or even imped, the oilfield operations at a particular location.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide oilfield water storage systems that employ open-air ponds and methods of managing the same that enable effective delivery of a surface spreading agent to an open-air water storage pond, especially for such ponds that are used at oilfield sites. Further, it is desirable to provide surface spreading articles that avoid the need for users to employ protective gear when handling the articles. Furthermore, it is desirable to have a surface spreading agent on the surface of the water that reduces water evaporation and potentially reduces degradation and/or evaporation of biocides or other chemicals that may be applied to the water for preventing contamination of the well and the reservoir when the water is injected. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.